Interim county administrator no stranger to position

STOCKTON - San Joaquin County officials tapped one of the county's top administrators to temporarily head the government after long-serving County Administrator Manuel Lopez retires next month.

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By The Record

recordnet.com

By The Record

Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By The Record
Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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STOCKTON - San Joaquin County officials tapped one of the county's top administrators to temporarily head the government after long-serving County Administrator Manuel Lopez retires next month.

Rosa Lee, the current assistant county administrator, will take over March 30 and would stay on as the interim county administrator until a permanent replacement is hired.

The Board of Supervisors announced the decision after holding a closed-session discussion Tuesday morning, where Lee was picked by a unanimous 5-0 vote.

"We have every confidence in her, and she will do a great job," Chairman Ken Vogel said after the vote was announced when the board reconvened in open session Tuesday afternoon.

Last month, Lopez, 66, announced he would retire on March 29. Lopez praised the board's decision, describing Lee as "a very low-profile person, but extremely talented."

Lee, 54, has worked for county government for the past 34 years and started in the County Administrator's Office in 1985, where her main responsibility now is the preparation of the county budget. The $1.6 billion budget for the fiscal year extends through June. The process to create the budget for the next fiscal year is now ramping up, she said.

"For the next several months, that will be the main focus," she said.

Lee says she's honored by the appointment, and that she plans to maintain the status quo while the county completes the recruitment process for Lopez's full-time replacement. "We're going to miss Manuel," she said. "He leaves some big shoes to fill."

Asked if she would apply for the permanent job, Lee said: "I need to give that some thought."